Bill Edwardes recounts his experience as a stretcher bearer during D Day after joining the army as an adventure seeking 16 year old that didn’t want to miss out on the action. Despite his age, Bill chose to train to become an infantryman; his mother and army officer both believed him to be mad but he enjoyed every minute of it. Unfortunately, an injury forced him to switch battalions and become a stretch bearer six weeks before D Day, essentially wasting his nine months of training. It was ingrained in the stretcher bearers to be constantly moving between each casualty, causing Bill to begin feeling relieved when a person was dead as no time had to be wasted on them. When he was in between helping casualties and no longer distracted by his job, his fear and doubt would begin to fester but the fact people were relying on him kept him going. Unlike some of the other stretcher bearers, Bill was able to just get on with it, which he credits to his father also being a medic.  Bill felt satisfied with his contribution during D Day so left the army as soon as he was able; he had no regrets but still wanted to check up on some of the people he had helped. He later chose to return to the beaches of Normandy to see how the area had changed and the poignancy he felt being there again left him speechless. Bill had never experienced PTSD until he started doing battlefield tours for work and began to have nightmares about his time serving in the army. 

Bryan Hunter, commonly known as 'Tab' in the forces, was called up for for National Service to the Queens own Royal West Kent Regiment in Oct 1955 and after completing training he was put in for the Parachute Regiment. He recounts all the hard work and training he had to go through until he was finally conscripted to Cyprus in 1956. Bryan tells stories of pure determination and tenacity - 'if you went down, you would get up and throw yourself back into the fight again' as he reflects on his time fighting in conflicts. He mentions his brief appearance in the Suez Canal Crisis, mutiny on the high seas and his time entertaining his camp with his passion for cinema and film projection. Overall, his story highlights the stark contrast between conscription and everyday camp life abroad.

Alan King shares the reality of the D-Day landings: chaos, carnage, noise, and confusion. Alan, a radio operator in the East Riding Yeomanry, tells of the storm in June 1944 that delayed the D-Day landings, and the chaos he witnessed as a young, inexperienced soldier landing on the Normandy beach of Luc-sur-Mer. He recounts crawling up the beach under a barrage of enemy fire, the tremendous noise, the carnage all around, and the death of his commanding officer, leaving them without direction. He recalls his involvement in the Battle of Goodwood, part of the larger battle for Caen, and tells how his crew commander died in his arms. Alan’s interview captures the horror and the unknown that many young men bravely faced. He witnessed people ‘dying all around’ but keeps the memory of his lost friends alive through regular trips to Normandy to visit their graves.